While We're Young
by lilypadandprongs4eva
Summary: After an accident in the science labs, with an experimental potion of Riku and Kairi's ending up spilt over Sora, Riku must now watch over his best friend as said friend begins to slowly de-age, while Kairi struggles to find a cure before Sora hits zero.
1. Chapter 1

"What

**While We're Young**

**Summary: After a science experiment goes wrong, spilling all over Sora, Riku now has to watch over his de-aging best friend while Kairi struggles to find a cure for the potion before Sora hits zero. Warnings- SoRi Child!Sora, Yaoi…post KH2**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing but the plot, and honestly, I doubt this is even that original, somebody probably did this before me…. oh well, read it anyway**

**Sora POV**

I entered the science lab, feeling annoyed. Kairi said that she and Riku would finish their stupid project thing by four o'clock! It was already half past and I was getting bored waiting for his two best friends to come out. Walking into the room sullenly, I spotted them working over some beaker on the furthest desk away. Kairi was giggling at something Riku had said and Riku, as always, had a confident smirk on his face as he lifted his hand to flick away a strand of his silver hair that was in front of his face, blocking his vision a little. I smiled, thinking about something funny. Kairi had reddish bronze coloured hair, Riku had silvery hair, and now I have a nice gold blonde colour hair. It had been brown when I was younger of course but it had lightened dramatically in the last few years. Gold, silver and bronze. Weird. Looking over at Kairi and Riku, I rolled my eyes at my friends antics, noticing that they hadn't yet realised I was in the room. With a large grin, I tiptoed over to them, where they were still hunched over at the table.

"Boo!" I yelled into their ears loudly, making them both jump high in the air, Riku giving a small sound of surprise. Tee hee, I thought with a smirk. It isn't often that I could surprise Riku, never actually. The guy is like, unbeatable. Kairi jumped too. Unfortunately, she just happened to be holding onto the beaker holding whatever concoction the two of them had been making. It flung in the air, as if in slow motion, right over her shoulder.

Once again, I just happened to be standing right behind her as well. The purple liquid landed on my head, in my spiky hair, dripping down onto my clothes. Almost immediately, a greenish light encased me, making me look like I was glowing. I felt like I was burning, very hot all over. I couldn't move a muscle as the stuff continued to soak into me, until it had fully coated me in a thin layer of the potion. I saw Kairi staring at me wide eyed, looking scared and Riku too even looking slightly worried. The liquid was absorbing itself into my skin now, until it was all gone. My vision went black for a moment, and I felt pain all over. Nothing too terrible but I opened my mouth to cry out as it continued. I clawed at my skin, trying to make the burning pain stop when all of a sudden, it did.

Opening my eyes, vision better as well, I stared over to Kairi who had her mouth open and Riku who looked mildly shocked. I moved to go over to them, but something seemed really off. I stumbled as I walked, Riku catching me quickly. All of a sudden I realised how much taller than me he seemed. And I don't mean just the normal 2 inches; I don't even reach his chin…huh? Kairi too, she's taller than me. What the hell is going on?

"It actually works…" Those were the first words I heard and they came from Kairi. I turned to her, already suspicious.

"What did you two do?" My voice is shaking slightly.

"It's a de-aging potion." She said in a hushed voice, so low I had to strain to hear her, but when I do, I really begin to wish I didn't hear anything. "And it really works…you shrunk like two years." Riku winced. I guess that probably wasn't the best way to say it, but then again, they are both pretty tactless. I got out a reply after only a second of shock.

**Riku POV**

"What?" Sora squeaked, before covering his hand with his mouth, shocked at the highness of his voice. I couldn't help but laugh, it wasn't possible to keep a mask of calm up now. Kairi looked apologetic but also couldn't hold back her smile at Sora's expense. I looked down at him, realising for the first time just how much shorter my best friend was to me now. Sora'd always been short but now, in his pre-puberty state, but now the guy didn't even come close to my shoulder.

Sora scowled murderously, probably thinking of how many ways he could kill his two best friends. He glared up at me through his blue eyes.

"You know," He said through gritted teeth. "I'm really regretting saving you both from the Heartless right now." We slowly stopped laughing when we saw him cross his arms. Kairi hiccupped.

"S…sorry Sora." She gasped out. "You just look so…different." I'd stopped laughing now, although now I wore an amused smirk instead, which I know annoyed the hell out of Sora.

Reluctantly Sora walked over to the mirror, giving off a feel that he was dreading it every step of the way. He opened his eyes grimacing at he image of himself in the mirror. It was obvious that this was his body from before the whole Kingdom Hearts thing. Holding the heavy Keyblade all-day and running around from world to world really had improved his body and muscle.

I remembered life before Kingdom Hearts and the Heartless. Everything had always been much more relaxed, much less to do. Plus Sora hadn't lost all his baby fat yet, the way he had by the time he was sixteen. He blushed unexpectedly, wrapping his arms around his body, looking oddly self-conscious of his body. I frowned again.

"I want you to change me back." Sora told us, narrowing his eyes, cringing at the squeakiness of his voice. We both sobered and Kairi said nervously,

"I don't exactly know how…" She admitted. "We never meant to test it on someone until we were sure…. It wasn't even done when you interrupted us…" Sora's eyes widened,

"You…you mean I'm stuck like this?"

"Well actually," I drawled, still smirking, hiding my worry. "It isn't going to stop. I guess your just gonna keep shrinking…" Kairi and Sora's eyes both widened.

"But, what happens if I reach zero?" he yelped. Kairi shrugged helplessly.

"Y…you won't." She stuttered, wringing her hands. "I mean, I'll work out a counter potion. I promise."

"But…I don't want to de-age." Well, thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious, I think rolling my eyes. I mean, duh.

"What will we do until you can work out a counter potion?" I ask. She shrugs. "Well, I don't know, but I've really go to go now." She fidgets. "I promised my Dad I'd be home by five and it's 5 now. I really need to get home now." I stare at her.

"But what are me and Sora supposed to do?" She rolls her eyes right back at me.

"I don't know. You guys are smart, work something out. I'll come in here again tomorrow and start working out a cure, okay?" And with that, she gives both me and Sora quick kisses on the cheek before racing out of the classroom, shutting the door closed behind her with a soft click. Sora stares at me, like I'm supposed to know what to do.

"Well I guess we should go too?" I suggest lazily and he readily agrees with me. I grab my bag and the two of us start the long walk home.

"This sucks," Sora said mulishly, and was he sulking? I stared at him, watching his bottom lip begin to stick out. His arms were already crossed in front of his chest. My eyes widened slightly as my heart began to beat slightly faster. Shakily, I gave a laugh and punched him in the shoulder not that hard, to cover it up.

"Get over yourself, Sora. This is gonna be fun." He frowned as I hit him, his other hand automatically reaching up to it to rub it.

"Careful." He muttered. "I'm not as strong as usual, you know. That kind of hurts." He was grimacing as he spoke. I knew Sora and I am alike in this way; we never _did _like admitting weakness, and never to each other. I grinned slightly.

"I'll try my best to remember, Sora." He nodded distractedly. "Are…are you angry at us about this?" I was kind of worried he would be but he shook his head, giving the silly grin that I loved to see, but didn't seem to see that much anymore.

"Nah, course not Riku. Wasn't your fault. Or Kairi's." I relaxed. "I guess I'm just a bit tense, is all." Curiosity over came me. "I don't really like the idea of this much."

"What's it like?" Sora glanced at me slowly.

"What, being fourteen again? Different, that's for sure. First, I'm shorter, so my view on the world seems weird, it's taking me a lot of concentration to just not fall over."

"Is it only physical, the changes I mean?" That sounds really suss now that I think about it. Note to self, never word it like that again. I tuned in to Sora as he answered my badly worded question.

"No, not exactly, but again, it's weird. I still have my memories of everything I've done since I was fourteen, so the whole Kingdom Hearts thing I still remember, but more vaguely. I know that I can't do what I did now, because although I know I've done t, that me hasn't? I don't think that makes much sense. Also, my mind seems to think differently now too… I feel more carefree, happier; I'm not worrying about Heartless or what Malificent might be up to like I usually do, even though I know that the threat is still unchanged. Does that make any sense?"

"It does really." I said thinking about his answer carefully, mulling it over slowly in my mind before I answer him back. "This time, two years ago, we never did worry about much. We would have still been building our rafts. So, not just your body was changed, you also have your fourteen year old mindset. Huh, who would have thought it? You found a way to get even _more _immature." I couldn't resist that jib. He stuck out his tongue at me and I sniggered, point proven. Grinning, he flicked his wrist, calling his Keyblade to him. I unconsciously took a step back.

"Do I need to remind you that I'm the Keyblade master?" He seems cockier than usual. I roll my eyes, summoning my own Keyblade of Darkness.

"Bring it on." I say, and we go for it. We've reached the beach by now anyway so there was no one else around. Has he forgotten what he just told me? That he's not very strong at the moment. Ah, silly silly Sora. Well too bad for him, I guess. And then I really get into it. He's on the attack, throwing combos like there is no tomorrow, although they are poorly done, very sloppy compared to his usual style. A lot like he used to be, fighting with those wooden swords we used to use…oh right! The ageing thing, of course he'd fight how he did then. I've really got to start remembering that.

Stepping forward, I block his attacks, trying to anticipate his next move, the way I usually do, before he went and changed his fighting technique _again. _I sigh, using my brute strength to turn his attacks on him, forcing him to retreat to the edge of the water, all the while being forced onto the defensive. He blocked with difficulty. I smirked as I decided to go for one of the oldest tricks in the book, something that Sora seems to fall for _every _single time. Personally, I'm just glad the fake Ansem and the Organization never knew him as well as I do. It would have sucked if they beat him the final battle by doing something as stupid as this. I pointed over his shoulder,

"Hey look, a distraction!" (**AN: That really does work.) **Wildly, he turned to look and moving forward quickly, before Sora had a chance to look back around, I pushed him as hard as I could into the ocean. He stumbled, already unsteady from his quick turn. In a split second he fell beneath the waves, drenching himself. I fell to the ground, laughing helplessly as I saw him jump up, head above the sea, dripping wet and spluttering in indignation.

"What the hell, Riku!" he yelled loudly, "That's cheating!" I was still on the sand by the shoreline, laughing at him. Pouting again, he kicked his foot, sending water splashing over to me. I scrambled up in an instant, away from the shoreline. Sora tackled me back down to the ground, pinning me down with his knees on the inside of my elbows, sitting on my chest. I gave an _oof _of surprise as my back it the cooling sand, the sun was almost set, and it kept no heat. I rolled my eyes, hadn't he realised he couldn't win against me? Grinning I rolled him over, so I was on top of him, letting him struggle helplessly.

"So," I asked him with a smirk. "Once again, who's the Keyblade master around here?" His lips remained tightly shut. I pushed down on him a little bit, probably almost crushing his ribs. He grunted and I laughed.

"What was that, runt?" I teased.

"You are, dammit!" He yelled gasping. "Now get the hell off me, already!" I loosed my grip on his forearms and he shoved me off. I was smirking, feeling pleased with myself. I reached out my hand to pull him up. He was freezing, his hand ice cold. H shivered slightly as I studied him.

"Okay Sora, you're coming to my house." He flicked his head around to look at me, questioningly. He looked kind of confused as we headed up the stairs and off the sand.

"What? But we never-"

"You're freezing, Sora!" I snapped sternly. "My house is closer than yours, therefore we should go there." His mouth dropped open in surprise. I guess I should have expected him to be surprised. I was kind of surprised when I said it myself. I've never really gone voluntarily to my house that often. My parents and me don't get along very well, I guess you could say, and believe me, that's an understatement. Dad and me just never got along, us being in a room together just inevitably lead to a yelling match and my mother, well, she just doesn't really care about what I do. Both of my parents were pretty young when they had me. Personally I think that's why they got married in the first place although I've never really been able to draw the courage up to ask either of them if it's true or not.

They aren't here a lot anyway, always working or away on business trips, not even together. Sora is the only one that I really ever talked to about this sort of stuff before, but right now I just really don't want to. Sora however doesn't seem to get that so I distract him as he protests.

"But-"

"Sora, I am not letting you get hyperthermia while I baby-sit you." He forgot whatever we were arguing about, hands on hips, pouting indignantly.

"You aren't babysitting me!" He howled and I sniggered.

"Technically I am, as you're almost 4 years younger than me at the moment." I point this out with pleasure. He scowled, crossing his arms and walking ahead of me, leaving me having to jog to catch up. He threw me a dirty look.

"I'm not a baby," he snapped. I smirked but decided it would probably be best if he weren't angry with me for as long as it takes for this thing to wear off or Kairi to find a solution to this de-aging thing.

"Of course you're not. Now move it. We need to get home before the sun fully sets. It's cold out here." He rolls his eyes at me, so I grab his skinny wrist and pull him along the road at a fast jog.

"I can walk myself, you know." He whined but I didn't pay any attention to him, continuing to pull him along until we reached my house. I live in the nicer side of Destiny Islands. My house is way bigger that Sora's, and that isn't bragging. It's just a fact, besides, I'd much rather live at Sora's. At least his house actually looks lived in. See, Sora's family isn't perfect either. He only has a mother at home. His father walked out on them when we were only little kids. It really hurt him deeply, I think, but at least he has his mother who loves him. She's always been more my mother too that my real mom.

"Come on Sora, while we're still young please." We entered my house by the front door, which thankfully was unlocked.

"Hey Riku?" Sora spoke up quietly. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "What will your parents say about this? They'll be sure to notice that I only look fourteen." I heaved a sigh, unable to avoid the question now.

"They're out of town." I admit to Sora. "Again." He frowns as well, moving closer to me as a gesture of support but I turn away.

"I don't need your pity, Sora." I say sharply. He steps back like he was slapped in the face but doesn't say a word. I feel like I should apologize but I can't find the right words and stay quiet too. The silence is stifling, tension fills the air, making the room seem smaller and more uncomfortable. It isn't really awkward though. Sora and me never really have awkward silences. We've just known each other for so long.

Hesitantly I turn to look at him, staring into his big blue eyes that seem way to big for his face, but for some reason seem to suit him. They seem so innocent still, after everything. I know Sora tried with everything he had to keep hold of that innocence. He isn't as naive as he used to be though. I guess it wasn't possible, even for him to keep that, through our journeys although it still pops up in him sometimes. I envy him of that sometimes. I lost my innocence the moment I stepped into the darkness that night, so long ago. I remember the night more vividly then anything else, the night the Darkness overcame Destiny Islands.

_I was out on the bridge, and the Heartless were all around me. Sora was there, with his stupid wooden sword out and wide eyes. I told him I wasn't afraid. That I might never be able to come back again, never see the island again, or my parents but I had no doubt. I was not scared. The worst part was that I wasn't. Afraid that is. I remember I thought I was so brave, doing what I was doing but I realise now that I wasn't. Sora was the one who stood next to me. His voice was trembling was he noticed the darkness swirling around my ankles, threatening to overcome me. I held out my hand to him, not helping him at all. He didn't even hesitate then, I could hardly believe it. Sora was so scared, but without even a thought, reached out for me, trusting me that I wouldn't lead him wrong. He was the brave one. Being brave isn't about doing scary things and not being afraid, it's being scared, but doing those things anyway. Sora had that courage and a faith in me that I could hardly believe. _

I was jerked out of my reflections by Sora, who was still wearing his dripping clothes. His body was shaking and his teeth chattered as he wrapped his arms around himself in attempt to keep warm while waiting for me to come out of my thoughts. Kicking myself mentally for forgetting about him for a moment there, I quickly take him up to my room, all the while grumbling to at him for not just shaking me out of it or something. Sora just shrugged.

"It looked important." He replied. "Who am I to break a chain of thought that could be important?" He flopped down on my bed to pull off his shoes while I knelt down in front of my dresser, digging through my draws for some warm clothes he could borrow for the rest of the night. I chucked the first things I could see at him, which he catches, looking puzzled.

"Put them on." I said briskly. "I _really_ don't need you getting sick." He nodded his head slowly before reaching to pull off his wet shirt. It stuck to his skin as he pried it off, giving me a great view of his stomach and chest, which he realised a second later.

"Riku." He moaned. "Get out so I can change." I smirked but turned so he wouldn't notice the slight blush I had on face, at the mental image of him changing.

"Are you sure you want me to leave?" I teased gently. "I'm sure you don't have anything I haven't seen before." He blushed crimson before pushing me out the door forcefully. I laughed.

"Shut up Riku! Now get out." I sighed.

"I know when I'm not wanted." As I heard my bedroom door slam shut, I walked out of sight, down the hallway, only looking back to give him a small wink, making him blush again right to the tips of his ears. Sniggering, I slammed the door closed, going back out to the lounge room to wait for Sora. He came back presently looking uncomfortable in my clothes. He was wearing a long sleeved black shirt and some brown cargo pants that are to short for me. They were slightly big on him, the trousers especially but I personally thought they looked good. He tugged at the neckline uncomfortably as I studied him. When he spoke though, he wore his normal grin.

"I guess I'll have to go home tomorrow and find some of my old clothes. I'm sure my mom kept them from when we left the first time. His voice was quiet as he talked. I noticed his hands fiddled with the waistband of the jeans as he talked. I nodded, smirking.

"Oh the horror. Back to those old red clothes." He laughed, putting his hands behind his head in his very-Sora pose.

"Aw, shut up Riku. I happen to have liked them." I shrugged with a smirk dropping the subject.

"Wanna play X-box?" I ask him just like I did millions of times, although that was of course years ago when we used to have sleepovers like this, before we got too old and our fathers didn't really think it was right or proper anymore. It's funny that the day that we do it again is the day that one of us actually _does _get younger.

In answer to my question, Sora nods eagerly, racing for the TV so he can get the better controller. I follow him laughing, shoving him out of the way. Sighing, he settles for the other one and we turn on one of my games, one of his favourites, a two-player battle game. I work out the settings quickly and then we go for it, virtually this time. I'm winning this easily; he's nearly out of health points already and we only just started.

I sneak a glance at Sora out of the corner of my eye. He never grew out of his habit of moving the controller around wildly as he played, no matter how many times I told him it wouldn't help. The corners of my mouth turned up as I saw the tip of his tongue sticking out as he glared at the screen in intense concentration. I grin and am about to deliver the final, finishing blow to Sora's character on the screen, all ready to turn to Sora with a grin, when he actually used guard and defended himself, giving a powerful combo to my guy, finishing me off.

Sora smirked. I blinked, but not just because he unexpectedly beat me. He just gave me _my _smirk. _Mine. _No one ever smiles like that except for me. Sora knows this! I get my awesome, cool smirk and he gets his goofy grin that makes him look so cute- I pause. Did I really just think that Sora is cute? Hastily I push the thought to the back to my mind, my face however already tinted pink. Thankfully if he noticed, Sora didn't say anything. Hopefully he just saw it and assumed I was embarrassed that I lost to him.

"Rematch!" I say through gritted teeth, although I'm not really mad. Sora readily agrees and we start over, playing well into the night. It isn't until I notice Sora yawning blearily that I glance over to the clock and am startled. 2am. Whoa. Grimacing I stand up, stretching awkwardly after sitting for about 6 hours. How is it even possible to lose track of time for so long? Sora stands up too, and we go up to my room quietly were Sora sleepily strips down to his boxers. My eyes widen slightly and I look away. It's then that I realise for the first time something quite important.

"Where are we both gonna sleep?" I ask, frowning. Sora looks at me, shrugging. I only have my bed in this room and no extra mattresses for him to sleep on or anything.

"Can't we just sleep in your bed?" Sora said impatiently. "That's what we used to do." I open my mouth to protest.

"Yeah, but that was when we were little. We can't do that _now._"

"Why not? It isn't like anything is gonna happen." He said innocently with a sweet smile. I fight the urge to groan and roll my eyes. Forget Master of the Keyblade. Sora is the Master of Innocence, I swear. It drives me crazy sometimes.

"Because we- I mean-" I struggle to find the words. Sighing I give up. "Fine, get in Sora." He grins and crawls into my bed, under the black covers, me next to him. "And make sure you don't hog all the blankets like you used to." I grumble at him next to me.

"I am not a blanket hog Riku." I get the feeling he's pouting.

"Sure you aren't." I mutter, I'm too tired to argue the point now. Sora buries his head into the pillow on his side of the bed.

"Screw you Riku." And so it begins.

**A/N: Well, there's chapter one, I hoped you liked it, I did. This is going to be a pretty long fiction; probably 12 or so chapters so if you like it, put it on story alert.**

**If you do I'll give you papou fruit flavoured cookies and everything! Or if you review! Tell me what you think, even if you hated it.**


	2. Chapter 2

Riku POV

**While We're Young**

**Summary: After a science experiment goes wrong, spilling all over Sora, Riku now has to watch over his de-aging best friend while Kairi struggles to find a cure for the potion before Sora hits zero. Warnings- SoRi Child!Sora, …post KH2**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing but the plot, and honestly, I doubt this is even that original, somebody probably did this before me…. oh well, read it anyway.**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, put this story on story alert or favourites. It's you guys that give me the motivation to write. You guys rock.**

**Riku POV**

I woke up quite early to next morning, probably sometime around seven thirty, the sun was what woke me up, I must have forgotten to close the blinds the night before because the sun was just _shining _through, much too bright for my eyes, even if they were closed at the time. I had actually been sleeping really well until then. My eyelids felt heavy as my mind slowly tried to wake up. I shifted, trying to stretch out a bit. I hadn't really remembered the day before yet, so I really had no idea there was anybody else in the bed. Curiously though, as I tried to move, I couldn't. Something was like, lying on top of me, something tickling my face. I guess this just goes to show how groggy I really was at the time, that I didn't work it out before then. My eyes flicked open, seeing the brown/blonde hair. The first thought that entered my head was '_what the hell did I do last night'? _Thankfully it all came back to me before I freaked and woke Sora whose head I had just realised was actually resting right on my bare chest. I would have moved it off but didn't want to wake him and I figured it was accidental anyway. Presently though, Sora began to move, shifting his head off of me, before waking up, bleary eyed. He spoke to me immediately, awake and alert.

"Morning Riku!" His voice was happy as I grumbled internally. How does someone wake up to _chirpy_ in the morning? It's unnatural, but then again, it is _Sora_. He props his head up onto his elbow while lying on his side so he can look up at me better. I stare at his face, more rounded than yesterday, more innocent. His face has a look of innocence, more then usual. Sora looks smaller again, but not by that much compared to when he went to sleep. Being the sort of person he is, Sora recognises my train of thought quickly and asks quietly,

"Am I younger?" He sounds slightly scared about what my answer is gong to be but I can't lie and decide to just tell him the truth.

"You look about thirteen Sora." I say this bluntly. His face looks resigned as he gets up, out of the bed so he can look at himself in my full-length mirror that covers one full side of my room. And if you're asking why I have a mirror like that, hey, what can I say, with a body like mine, who wouldn't want to look at me?

"You're right Riku." He says glumly. Aren't I always? " I look about thirteen. So what does that mean? I went down about 3 years in less than a day. That means I have less than four days left unless Kairi finds that counter potion." I think about it, remembering exactly how the potion had worked the day before.

"No, that mightn't be true. The first two years you lost were immediate, that could have just been the effect of the potion spilling over you. Now you are just getting the after effects which is why you _keep _shrinking." He looks slightly confused by my explanation so I summarise. "It means that really you have only de-aged about a year in the last sixteen hours. The other two years were just the result of being covered in the potion so heavily." Sora runs his hand through his long spiky hair as he stares at his reflection.

"I hope you're right Riku because I seriously don't want to die because of you and Kairi's stupid science experiments." He sounds less threatening than I believe he intended to be. "This shrinking thing is _really _weird Riku. I see myself in the mirror but it doesn't feel like I'm looking at myself." I smile uneasily, remembering times when I felt like that, during my brief time being possessed by Xehenort and then having to take a different body once I surrendered myself to the Darkness, before joking quickly.

"Identity problems, much?" Sora grins at me briefly, before moving closer, so he could grab onto my wrist and pull me from my bed.

"Sor-a! Can't you go bother someone else?" I make his name sound longer as I groan. He smiles at me persuasively.

"Come on, you need to get up, it's getting late and I'm hungry! I never got dinner last night so you can make it up to me by making breakfast today!" I raise an eyebrow.

"And if I don't want to?" He pouts and I give in, but not without a fight. "You know where the kitchen is, can't you do it yourself?" He crosses his arms, before pulling on my arm even more incessantly, jerking me forward before I roll back, preparing to flip to my feet. Sora, grinning, steps back and lets me get up. Yawning we walk slowly down to the kitchen, downstairs and down the long hallways. I shiver, the wooden floorboards are cool under my feet and a window must have been left open somewhere overnight because I can feel a draught. Grimacing I grab my slippers which I put on my feet, sighing with content. Sora sniggered at my fluffy slippers though I just rolled my eyes.

"What? Don't think I don't know about those bunny slippers you keep in your wardrobe, Sora. They are _way _more embarrassing than these." Sora flushes and closes his mouth, running ahead to the kitchen to avoid having to retort. By the time I get there, he's already digging through the food cupboard, pulling out a box of some of that sugary cereal that he's always munching on. I personally can't stand the stuff. I tell Sora that that cereal is going to rot his teeth but does he listen to me? No. So now I just make sure I've always got a box full of the Coco pop things in the back of the cupboard for when Sora's over.

I kneel down so I can pull out the toaster from one of the lower draws, plugging it into the closest power point easily, hearing the click that signified that the prongs were all in properly.

"Chuck me the bread will you Sora?" I call at him, seeing him at the fridge; I guess looking for the milk to go with his cereal. Not looking around at me, he quickly threw the loaf of bread slices at me from the freezer, which I caught with ease. I carelessly stuffed two slices of bread in the toaster on medium heat for me. Sora won't want any, and I don't feel like sharing. It popped up what felt like only a minute later. Sora was already sitting down at the table, sucking happily on his spoon, presumably full of coco pops. He has this dreamy look on his face, and I wonder what he's thinking about. As I sit down across the table from him, I give him a hard whack across the back of his head.

"Hey Sora? Earth to Sora?" He started, looking up at me sheepishly. I roll my eyes so he can see me, but he just ignores me, resorting to just continuing to eat his breakfast. Shrugging, I just start to eat mine as well. "So…" I start, trying to think of something to say. "What should we do today? Kairi's gonna be busy at school trying to work out the potion so it'll just be us." Sora smiled slightly.

"I don't know. Whatever you want to do is fine." I grin and stop to think about it. It only takes me a second. "Why don't we go down to our island? We haven't gone there for awhile." See, the island isn't really _ours _but not many other people ever go there, apart from Wakka and Tidus and those guys. Our island is only about half a kilometre off shore from the main island were we all live, Destiny Island. When the tide is out, we can practically walk there until the last 100metres or so. Sora and I have played there for years and years, since we were little kids. Our fathers built some stuff out there, so it's great for just somewhere for us to hang out or spar or whatever. Sora looks ecstatic, nodding.

"That's a great idea, Riku! We can go there for the day, take lunch and everything. If the others aren't there, we can play with our Keyblades, 'cause no one will be able to see us!" Sora says. I smile at his enthusiasm, nodding along to his plans, thinking they actually sounded pretty good.

"I'll beat you every time though, you realise? Your body has never used that Key yet, I mean, apart from yesterday and even so, you've changed since then. It won't be able to handle it." I drawl slowly, knowing in his thirteen year old body I'd win every time. He pouted, sticking out his lower lip. Finally I take pity on him and smile. "I guess…well, I could teach you again, I mean, if you want. It's not like you don't have the experience even if you don't remember most of it. And I know you have the potential." Sora brightened.

"Really, you'd help me? Thanks Riku." His eyes bore into mine as he talks until I look down, muttering something along the lines of 'it's nothing." Sora is bouncing slightly in his seat until I give him a look, making him stop.

"We can go straight after breakfast if you want. All we need to do first is quickly go to your house and get you into something that hopefully fits." I tell him but he shakes his head, making his spiky hair that was already really messy shake from side to side.

"No, what about Kairi? We should go see here in the school science labs before we go. If she knows how much the potion has worked, it might help her make the counter potion." This sounds strangely logical for Sora but I agree, albeit slightly reluctantly, although I'm not exactly sure why. Kairi is one of my best friends, why wouldn't I want Sora and I to go see her? I can't work it out. I'll think about it again later.

"That's fine." I answer him neutrally. "Do we want to pack our lunch here or at your house? I think we should do it here, so your Mom won't see you. I don't think it's a good idea for us to tell our parents about this. I think they'd freak out or panic." Sora nodded absently. "Unless you want to tell you mother?" I guess his answer before he actually speaks.

"No! I mean, I don't want her to worry. She won't mind me staying here with you. I'll phone her now, okay? Do you mind if I use your phone?" As he says this, he was already standing up, taking his bowl over to the sink before grabbing my cordless phone and punching in the number for his home.

**Sora POV**

I balanced the phone between my ear and my shoulder so I could use my hands to wash up my cereal plate at the same time. The phone was ringing still as I finished. It was just as I was about to put my plate down when I heard the click that meant mom had picked up.

"Hello?" She said loudly. I winced, pulling my phone away from my ear slightly at her loud voice, she still hasn't worked out that that really isn't necessary.

"Er, hi Mom, it's me?" There was only a tiny pause before I heard her shriek.

"Sora? Oh Sora, it's you sweetie! Where are you? Do you know how worried I've been, young man?" I'm slightly shocked by her reaction. She never acts all clingy like this. At least she did when I was thirteen. I search my memory as well as I can, trying to work out if this is normal, but I can't remember, I realize to my frustration.

"Mom, are you okay?" I say this cautiously. "I'm at Riku's." I hear her let out a large sigh of relief.

"Oh Sora, I thought you'd gone off again with Kairi and Riku. I thought-" My eyes widened. She had thought we'd left Destiny Islands again. We never did end up telling her the real reason we'd left.

"I'm sorry Mom. Riku and I were hanging out after school is all, but when the rain started, his house was closer so we went there. I forgot to call…I figured you'd realize where I was."

"Oh Sora you silly boy," She scolded. "Just, don't be so immature again. You're going to give me a heart attack with all the worry you give me." I grinned sheepishly.

"Yes mom."

"Now, I'm going out today to go do some clothes shopping. I won't be home 'til late. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Me and Riku are planning on going out to our island today."

"That's a good idea Sora! You boys need more fresh air. Are you going to be there for the whole day?" I tell her yes and she asks if we want her to make us some lunch to take before she leaves. Surprised I agree eagerly. My mom might baby me a bit, but I don't really mind. Besides, she makes good food.

"I'll leave it in the fridge for you and Riku okay?"

"That's great Mom, thank you. Oh wait; I forgot to ask- do you mind if I sleep over at Riku's again today? His parents are out of town, and I don't want him to be lonely." I say the end bit quietly, so Riku wouldn't overhear. It was only an excuse, so mom wouldn't see me but a valid one all the same. I don't like leaving Riku alone often. He gets depressed a bit now I'm not exactly sure why, but I think the fact that he gave into the darkness bugs him a lot still. I was meaning to talk to him about it, but now, since I'm already forgetting the details of what actually happened, I'm not going to be much help.

"That's fine Sora. I'll see you later then, okay? Oh and say hello to Riku for me, won't you dear?"

"Yeah mom, yeah. Bye." I hung up, before flopping back down in the chair. Riku was looking at me curiously.

"You were on the phone for a long time. What'd she say?"

"She thought we'd left again, you know, to go to other worlds." I admitted. "When I didn't come back last night, I mean." His mouth opened slightly in shock for a moment before his face relaxed again.

"I didn't even think about that. We should have remembered to call last night." He looked slightly annoyed at himself for forgetting. I shrugged it off good-naturedly.

"It's fine Riku. She's leaving for the mainland today to go clothes shopping or something so she'll be gone all day. Plus, I'm allowed to sleep over here again tonight. That is okay, isn't it? I mean, I kind of forgot to ask you first-" He waved an arm dismissively.

"No, it's for the best. We really need to convince her to let you stay here all holidays until this wears off. Do you think she'd go for it if we made up some excuse?" I wasn't sure, and I said so.

"Look Riku, I can hardly remember what mom looks like these days, my memories are getting fainter, and the more I age, the more I forget about what life is like now! I can't help you with this." I kind of got a bit snappy, but I think you would have too if you were in this sort of situation.

"You can't remember things now?" He repeated, looking deep in thought. I nodded. "Well this can't be good, can it?

"Oh no, you _think?_" He held up his hands.

"Hey hey, no need to get sarcastic." I rolled my eyes, glaring at him.

"Do you even realise how hypocritical that statement is?" He smiles.

"Do you even know the meaning of that word, Sora?" His words have an annoying patronizing tone that I pick up on immediately. Huffily I storm out of the room. With a kind of perverse pleasure, I saw Riku's eyes widen slightly as I walked out. He looked surprised. He hadn't expected that obviously. He jogged out after me, stopping me by grabbing hold of my shoulder. He spun me round easily.

"Jeez Sora, don't be a baby about this. It's all under control okay. You de-age, I look after you, and Kairi finds a cure. Relax already? Isn't that supposed to be you're philosophy? Think positive, Sora." I grudgingly give him a small smile, which turns into a full-blown grin after a moment. I figure I might as well enjoy this as much as I can. I mean, after all. How many times is this ever going to happen in my life? Being all angry and depressed about this would get boring pretty quickly.

"Okay Riku. M'sorry for overacting." He laughed quietly before waving a hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it Sora. Now come on, lets get ready to leave, I do want to get to the Island today." I nodded and scrambled to get up from my sitting position. "Go find something else of mine to where over to your house. I don't really care what." I nodded, feeling slightly uncomfortable about wearing Riku's clothes, but don't really want to say anything. Riku _did _say it was fine after all.

When I get up to his room, I closed the door, before rummaging through his wardrobe, with all his neatly stacked clothes. I dug around in the back for something old, finding some jeans, which looked like they might possibly fit, and a T-shirt, pulling them on. It didn't really matter what he looked like. After all, it was just Riku and I. A knock on the door startled me.

"Yeah?" I called through the closed door, doing up my jeans at the same time.

"Can I come in?" Riku voice called. I was done so I said yes. Riku opened the door and walked over, looking me over.

"Don't you want to brush your hair before we leave?" I snorted, knowing his obsession with _his _hair. Well mine looks better without being brushed, otherwise the spikes don't look right.

"No thanks. I think I'll be okay."

"Your funeral." He said with a dismissive shrug, turning away. I gritted my teeth, before taking the brush from him and running it through my hair a few times. Damn Riku and that annoying reverse phycology of his!

"Happy now?" I said grumpily.

"Sure." He says it in way that indicates he doesn't care much either way, but I could see the smugness in his eyes that says different. It's not fair. He's such a manipulator. "Now come on already Sora." I nod and get an idea.

"Wanna race?" I suggest and he grins. "Ready-" I start slowly, only to be cut off by Riku saying quickly,

"Set, Go!" before belting out the front door. I pout for a moment, Riku is such a cheater, but once I see he isn't going to slow down for me to catch up, I start running, barely remembering to shut the front door on my way out.

**Riku POV**

It didn't take long for us to get to Sora's house. I won the race, but not by much. Sora was only about half a step behind me and was huffing something about the fact that my long jeans had slowed him up. He was breathing heavily as I let myself into the house, towards the kitchen where I got two glasses of water, one for Sora and one for me. I chugged my drink down quickly, wiping my mouth, before ordering my best friend to go find his old clothes to wear. He obeyed and soon had come back down in his old familiar clothes.

"Okay, can we go now?" he asked, looking at me expectedly.

"I guess so. Wait, didn't you say your mother left us some lunch to take?" He nods and gets it out of the fridge. It's in a plastic bag, but I figured it would be easiest just to put it in a backpack so I grab one and put the food in. I also spot a hat with a visor and give it to Sora. "Just wear it until we get to the beach. No point making people suspicious." He shrugs but accepts my words, jamming it on his head.

"So we aren't going to see Kairi first?" He asks. I hesitate.

"I guess we could," I pause. "But I thought you wanted to go to the Island?" His face scrunches up for a moment.

"Island." He decides. "Just me and you." I feel a sense of quiet achievement at his words, which was confusing. Why was I happy that he'd rather go to the Island then go meet Kairi? Or was it that he'd chosen me over her? Either way, why did I care? Kairi was my best friend, apart from Sora of course. There was no reason for me to feel like it was a competition.

"Riku?" Sora said impatiently. I shook out of my thoughts.

"Yes Sora?" I answered.

" _I said_, are we leaving now?"

"Yeah." Sora grinned at me and I smiled back.

**Sora POV**

The trip to the beach was mostly uneventful, as was the swim over to our Island. It was high tide so I could only touch the bottom just. Riku had to carry the backpack with the food above his head so it wouldn't get wet. I would have offered to carry it as well but I wasn't tall enough to be able to walk along the sand without my head going under the water. I was glad it was a warm day, because the water was freezing. I jogged on the spot briefly to dry off and keep warm before Riku suggested we get right into our Keyblade mock battles on the sand. That's where we usually fight, against Wakka, Tidus and Selphie. Riku usually hangs out on the bridge to the mini island with the papou fruit tree, so whenever it's just us, we usually just go one on one there. I never like it up there fighting, because I always fall off into the ocean at t hat's an automatic defeat. The sand is better.

"Maybe we should use our wooden swords instead?" I suggest. "I mean, we didn't bring any, what are those things called? Potions or something?"

"No worries. I still have my magic. I can use cure if I hurt you. I'm not very good at using it on myself, but I'm not expecting you to get a hit on me so it should be fine." Gah! He makes me so mad sometimes, when he talks in that patronising voice like that. I would beat him today, I vowed silently. At least once. I've done it before, in Kingdom Hearts. Why not now? I was determined. I summoned my Keyblade and lunged at him, ready to bring my weapon down on his head. Now, I knew he'd react fast enough to block it, so it really wasn't that dangerous. Just like I thought, he had his Dark Blade in his hand so fast my Keyblade never even came close. He had me on my back with his Keyblade at my head less than three combos later.

"Go for the less obvious hits Sora." He ordered. "They're the hardest to block." I nodded, trying to do what he said, but my moves were clumsy and I couldn't get long combos, compared to Riku, whose moves were flowing and practiced with special moves and strong attacks.

"It's weird fighting against you again." He commented after about ten more tries. "I mean, apart from yesterday, we haven't really done this sort of fighting since we fought against Xehenort together. And even then, it was never against each other."

"You always beat me." I said sulkily. He nodded.

"Now I do. You are fighting with inexperience, the way Wakka, Tidus and Selphie fight."

"You could have just been nice and said I was going good." I muttered, annoyed at being compared to Wakka and Tidus in fighting skill. I was the Keyblade Master. I told Riku this.

"You aren't at the moment." He shrugged. "Well, _technically _I guess, you're still you, chosen by the Keyblade but it's not like you remember any of it."

"I remember some of it." I said defensively. " I didn't forget it all. I still remember going to Twilight Town and Traverse Town and Wonderland and Tron-"

"I'm not saying that." He said patiently. "We both know what you did. But at the moment, with your fighting ability, it's like you _didn't _do those things because you can't replicate them now."

"I wish I could do those things." I said, crossing my arms, sitting down on the beach. "What if Malificent comes and attacks now? I feel helpless." And I did. What if Heartless attacked us again? Riku would have to protect _me_. I mean, I'm sure he _could_, I'm still struggling to find something Riku can't do. But I don't think I could let him do all the work, without me helping. I mean, _Kairi _did, let us go off and save the world without her, but she's a _girl_. I mean, it's not _because _she's a girl, but Kairi just isn't a fighter. I am! What if the Heartless attack now? I mean, sure today, I could probably fight them off. Not well, but I did okay in the beginning when I first left the Island two years ago. But what about tomorrow when I've shrunk to an eleven year old? Or the next day-

"What are you thinking?" Riku asked.

"I'm going to keep getting younger." I said dully. "You won't need me anymore." Riku looked startled.

"What do you mean Sora? We're best friends."

"You're older then me already. Normally I mean." I pointed out. "You're better then me at everything. At least in Kingdom Hearts, we worked together! Now I'm going to get even younger and-" Riku was kneeling in front of me as a poured out what I was thinking.

"We are best friends Sora." He said firmly, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Always. I don't _care _how old you are or-or how good at fighting you are. I will always need you here, with me. Never doubt that." His grip on my shoulder was almost painfully tight, but I smiled, reassured by his words…almost.

"What if the Heartless come back?" I ask sceptically.

"What if they do?"

"Would you stay with me, or leave and go and fight?" He leaned back thoughtfully, pondering the question.

"Well, most likely if I tried to go and fight, you'd find a way to come along with me anyway, no matter how old you are. So I doubt I'd be able to."

"But you'd try to leave without me- if you could?" I stated it as a question but thought of it as a fact.

"No." He said simply, still not looking at me.

"No _what?_" I said frustrated.

"No I wouldn't fight. Not if it meant leaving you."

"Really?" I breathed, trying to stare into his eyes, to get some measure of his sincerity. Not that it was like Riku to raise my hopes and then say he was joking but you never know. This was unexpected.

"I think I learnt my lesson last time Sora." He said seriously. "I think we _need _to stay together. I mean, not that you don't work well on your own or with Donald and Goofy, but I think together we work best."

"But even if you stayed with me, it's not like we'd be helping anyone so how would it matter how well we worked together?"

"You aren't going to de-age forever." Riku said with a casual shrug. "Nobody is better at Science then Kairi. I'm sure she'll have found a cure by the time we go and see her." I might be younger and slightly denser then usual but even I could tell that he had no idea how long it would take Kairi to help me. I decided to stop thinking about it. I'm good at forgetting things I didn't want to think about.

Both of us were silent then, thinking about the very serious conversation we had just had. Serious conversations don't happen that often between us, so they were a pretty big thing for us. We both needed time to absorb it so we sat in silence for a few minutes; I was just playing absently with the sand on the ground next to me while I thought. Finally Riku broke the silence.

"So, do you want to keep sparing?" I got up, nodding.

"Yes!"

"Okay, just remember what I told you. And as an extra hint, after you get a combo on me, if you do, and I'm on my back, ready to spring up, for gods sake Sora, _move out of the way_, otherwise you'll just lose, get it?" I nodded. "Okay lets go then. I'm not going to go easy on you anymore." I spluttered indignantly.

"You were not going easy on me!"

"Whatever makes you sleep better at night Sora," Riku soothed, jokingly. I growled at him.

"I hate you." I glowered.

"I like you too." He replied. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but even so, let me say it again. Riku is the most aggravating, smarmy, sarcastic, good-at-everything-in-an-annoying-way person I have ever had the displeasure of meeting in my _entire _life. We kept sparring. I was sweating pretty heavily, although Riku looked pretty cool still. On the plus side though, I think I'm improving. Riku doesn't beat me after three combos now. I can keep up for about a minute before he pins me. Not an extreme improvement but better then nothing, I told myself.

**Riku POV**

I was enjoying myself, battling Sora on the beach with our Keyblades. I mean, it wasn't the same as battling Heartless, much less thrilling, but infinitely less stressful. Sora's moves were still sloppy, but improving. I wasn't trying as hard as I could though however, so his attempts were a little weak, but he was good enough to face some of the easier heartless, not that I was really thinking about that. I mean, of course it was possible for an invasion to happen, Malificent was still out there after all but the unlikeliness of it happened while Sora was- being affected by the potion- was slim. Sora seemed to have been thinking about it a lot though. I hope I reassured him all right, deep conversation isn't my forte usually, but it's easier with Sora normally because I always have at least some idea of what he's thinking. One, because he's an open book most of the time, and second, because being best friends for sixteen years has its benefits. His line of questioning wasn't what I expected though, but I ended up just answering as truthfully as I could.

Finally Sora, who I could tell was dead tired, finally asks me if we could stop for lunch. I know it was hard for him to ask. At the age of thirteen, I knew that was when our rivalry was the strongest. It died down after coming back to the Islands, but this wasn't the Sora I knew two days ago. This was the boy I knew back in eighth grade, when we fought for everything, who could make it to the tree first, who could beat the other the most amount of times when we sparred, which one of us Kairi like most…I guess she was the root of our problems, not to blame her, because it wasn't her fault but it doesn't make it less true. She was what turned our friendship into such a rivalry. It was still friendship, but different. It was good in some ways, I never would have pushed myself half as hard without the thought of Sora beating me to keep me motivated. He never would have gotten so good otherwise. Really, it was just the fact that I was always a year older that made me better than him at all those things. If we had have been the same age, it would have bee very close, not that I wouldn't have won in the end though, I'm just that super awesome!

Anyway, we were still mock fighting, I guess it had been a few hours since our last break, it was almost 4 o'clock. I was okay, my endurance is good, but Sora I could _tell_ needed to stop. I could have been a good friend and spared him the embarrassment of having to say it aloud, but I'm not that nice. Besides, I have to get my fun somehow. Finally he gave up and we stopped, opening up the lunch Sora's mother had packed for us. Sandwiches and packets of chips, as well as a bottle of water each. Sora and I both gulped the lunch down greedily, and before long we were done, licking our fingers clean.

"I'm still thirsty." Sora whined. I rolled my eyes.

"Am I supposed to care?" I say to him dryly.

"Yes…" He says slowly. "Can we go round to the cove? We can fill up our water bottles there!"

"I guess so." I said, shrugging.

"Maybe we can race once we get there? You know, the usual course?" Sora looked like an overexcitable puppy.

"You really are a glutton for punishment aren't you? I'll beat you hands down." He pouted.

"Will not! I'm a good racer. We're always even when we race. So what if you fight better then me _for the moment_, I'm just beat ya now!"

"But there'll be no one to judge." I point out. Now I know it sounds like I'm unenthusiastic about this, finding problems, but really, I was just as eager to do it as Sora. As strange as it is for Sora to be right about something, we should be pretty evenly matched. Racing is something I haven't really practiced the way I did fighting. I _do _have longer legs but Sora is pretty fast, even with those short legs of his, which is good because I hate holding back.

"So?" Sora said, in answer to my statement. "Neither of us is going to cheat. Besides, it's not like it's going to be close." Ooh, Sora's cocky. I smirk.

"No it won't be." I say. "I'm gonna leave you in the dust."

"We'll see, but we still gotta get to the cove." He points out, standing up.

"Then what are we waiting for?" I say, getting up, brushing of the sand on my legs. Sora beams at me and we head off to the cove. I was in a good mood. I hadn't had a day as good as this one for ages. And it wasn't even over yet.

**A/N : Look I know this chapter was pretty boring, not much really happened out of the ordinary, but it will get more exciting (I hope!) Not much happened because although Sora is shrinking, he's still old enough for the change to be mostly unnoticeable, except in stuff like sword fighting etc. His mind is still mostly the same so it was still a pretty ordinary day.**

**I also wanted to show some of the mechanics of Sora and Riku's friendship before Sora gets too young. I wasn't that happy with this chapter, I don't like writing in point of view style the way I have been, although I probably will have to keep going with it now.**

**Also when I wrote this scene with Sora and Riku talking about what would happen if the Heartless did return, I meant it to be purely hypothetical. However, I've been thinking since, it would make a nice change from the normal Child!Sora or Child!Riku story if Heartless **_**did **_**attack, combining the Kingdom Hearts 3 plotline. I'm really not sure which way to go, so review; tell me what you think! Otherwise I'll have to choose myself and I'll probably choose what nobody wants.**

**Also, one reviewer asked me how fast Sora is going to de-age. It's going to be about two years a day, one every twelve hours, approximately. **

**Either way, I'll get the next chapter out soon. Not another three-month gap. At best tomorrow or the next day. At worst two weeks time. 'Til next time,**

**Lilypadandprongs4eva**


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